Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Teri Koide's professional vocal career began at the early age of 16 when she began freelancing and soon formed her own band. The group, called "Innervisions," included Laura Dreyer on tenor saxophone and Benny Green on piano and was often heard at the renowned Bay Area jazz club, Yoshi's. At 17, she entered the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY where she studied with Masako Toribara and frequently performed and recorded with the Eastman Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Rayburn Wright. She earned a Bachelor of Music Degree in Voice Performance from Eastman and twice won the collegiate Downbeat award for "Best Jazz Vocalist." While at Eastman, she was invited to be a guest artist and clinician at the Aspen Music Festival.
With her classical vocal training and a strong background in jazz, her diversity became the hallmark of her vocal abilities. After her subsequent move to Los Angeles, she appeared with the Los Angeles Master Chorale under the direction of John Currie performing as soprano soloist in Handel's "Messiah." She was later chosen from a nationwide search to be the lead vocalist with the band Hiroshima with which she toured Japan, Switzerland (Montreux Jazz Festival), Thailand, Aruba, and the USA. Their recording, "Hiroshima L.A.," includes several selections that feature her vocals. (mp3)
In the L.A. studios, she has recorded for many motion picture and television soundtracks, records, and commercials. Her vocal solos can be heard on the films "Rocky Balboa," "Catwoman," "Scream 3," "The Crow Salvation," "Love Is All There Is," and "Braddock: Missing In Action III." Her on-camera film work includes "Yes Man," "Norbit," "License to Wed," "The Princess Diaries 2" and the Alan Parker film, "Come See The Paradise," in which she played a Japanese-American singer interned during World War II. (mp3) She has also appeared on "The Big Bang Theory," "Boston Legal," "Ally McBeal," "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," "Life," "Eli Stone," "Boston Public," "ER," "Malcolm in the Middle," and the "Academy Awards." In addition to her performance credits, she has also been vocal contractor for several projects including albums for Sony Classical and Elektra Records and the NBC television series, "Grease, You're the One That I Want." She was the vocal coach for Linda Ronstadt on her "Cristal" recording for Sony Classical, and recorded a chamber piece with Ms. Ronstadt featuring three voices, harp, and glass armonica.
Teri is a member of SAG-AFTRA and ASCAP. She lives in Southern California with her husband and their two daughters.
